Witness nanny is fired ‘for drinking’

A NANNY who says she saw Robert Murat near the holiday resort on the evening Madeleine disappeared was later fired for missing work after allegedly spending a night drinking.

Charlotte Pennington, 20, also claimed she was among the first to see Kate after she realised Madeleine was missing at the resort in Praia da Luz.

She insisted she heard Kate scream: “They’ve taken her! They’ve taken her!”

The would-be model also says she saw Madeleine at high tea, hours before she vanished.

She was sacked from another Mark Warner complex, in San Agostino, Greece, 10 weeks after the drama for failing to turn up for work after a night out.

She claimed that her drink had been spiked.

Yesterday, a Mark Warner spokeswoman confirmed she had been sacked in July. She had been transferred to Greece days after Madeleine vanished.

A friend of the McCanns said: “Kate denies saying, ‘They’ve taken her!’ By the time this girl arrived, Kate was struck dumb.”

Robert Murat, 33, who remains an official suspect, claims he was at his mother’s villa that night. But Ms Pennington claimed: “He was outside the lobby just before we started on our big search. It was about 10.30pm. He was just watching.”

She said she recognised him the next day because he was acting as an interpreter.

'Gerry frantically looked under cars while Kate paced up and down crying: "they've got Maddie"' says child-carer who worked in the Praia da Luz resort where Maddie vanished

BY MATTHEW YOUNG

22:00, 17 APR 2017 UPDATED 22:06, 17 APR 2017

“A parent came to me and said there was something going on, and said someone’s looking for a child, I didn’t instantly think it was Maddie.

"A couple of minutes later I walked into Kate crying, friends comforting her, Gerry looking under cars, and it just blew up. I don’t even think she saw me. I just stood next to her and tried to comfort her.

“She was pacing up and down. The worst possible thing had just happened to her.

“I think I said something like, ‘She’ll be found, these things happen all the time.’

“She was crying, but almost in a catatonic state, and Gerry was very distressed. That’s the one thing I really remember from him, looking under the cars. I can’t forget that.

“We were told to start looking in bins in case her body was in there. It was at that point we realised this was serious.”

“I know I didn’t step into that apartment but pretty much everybody else did. So, evidence gone, nothing. There was nobody there to say, ‘We need to lock this off now.’ The police didn’t get there for ages, maybe an hour and a half, so we were looking for her. And at the end of the day, no matter how much you’ve been trained with ­children, we were children, mainly ­teenagers, we’re not police.

“That’s why police were trying to get everyone’s timelines, because they weren’t there.”

Her original statement was four to five pages long, but the one the Portuguese had been working from was only two pages long – missing a number of details from her interview. The woman claimed “whole chunks of information were missed out”.

She added: “I think a lot of things should’ve happened differently. ­Unfortunately the effects were catastrophic.”

And the carer told how she was astonished Kate and Gerry were ever deemed suspects in their own child’s ­disappearance. She is still constantly quizzed by people about the case who ask if “the parents did it”.

She said: “I tell them no, there’s no way at all. A, timings and B, where it was, their r­eactions, the whole thing. Not a chance.”

“I remember her character and ­temperament. She was slightly shy, very sweet. Not loud or precocious.

“We obviously give the same care to all the children, but she was a real cutie and a real sweetheart. If you asked her, ‘Can you just pass me that?’ She’d be like, ‘Sure.’

“She was easy for us, and you were happy to sit and help out this pretty little girl who’s really nice.”

“I just couldn’t get over how different it was to other Mark Warner resorts.

“We were told, ‘Here’s a rape whistle, don’t go anywhere by yourself, ever.’ There’d been a girl attacked the year or so before in Praia da Luz. It didn’t sound like a family resort to me.

“I just got the feeling the locals didn’t want us there.”

“I remember thinking, even before I knew them, how they were the picture perfect family.”

Asked if she thinks Madeleine is still alive, the woman said: “Think possibly is the wrong word, but hope. I hope she is still alive.

“It’s probably very naive, but the best case scenario of a very horrible situation, is that she was procured and taken for a rich person who didn’t have children.

“I can’t go anywhere else in my head. I can read it about other people and know how horrible that seedy world is where children are sold. But my brain won’t go there with her. I just switch off.

“But I think the only person who knows exactly what happened is Madeleine. Can I believe it’s 10 years on? Yes and no.

No because 10 years seems like a really long time, she’d be nearly 14.

“And yes, because sometimes, when I talk about it, it feels like I’m right back there again.

“I wonder if she’s alive. Does she even remember? Does she remember her parents?

• Has been in Portugal since April 28th, the day upon which she began working for the Ocean Club tourist Complex in Luz, Lagos, and where she is employed as a child educator. Her work contract was completed in the U.K. with MarkWarner;• The witness clarifies that between the 19th of April and the 04th of May 2007 she worked with a group of children staying in the aforementioned complex between the ages of 4 months and one year of age (the Baby Club);• The witness further clarifies that the BabyClub group was divided in three sub-groups, with each group composed of two babies, so that each group had a different infant educator allocated to it;• With relation to the facts of the investigation, the witness states that in the course of her work, she came across Madeleine McCann many times, explaining that, even though she [Madeleine] did not belong to her [Pennington's] group, this was normal, as the physical space where the children groups are located is contiguous;• The witness clarifies that Madeleine was registered with the 'MiniClub', a group with children between 3 and 4 years of age. The principal space where the children from MiniClub and BabyClub are situated is in the same building as the Ocean Club complex reception and this is why the witness had personal contact with the identified child. However, she clarifies that it was normal during "siesta"-- understood to be between the hours of 09H00 and 10H30 and 14H30 and 15H00, at the exact time that children are brought into the crèche by their parents—when the children under her guard are asleep, that she would participate with the children and the activities in the MiniClub;• Witness states that on two different days, Sunday, 29th of April 2007, and on Thursday, 03rd of May 2007, she had direct contact with Madeleine McCann, telling her stories and speaking with her.• Witness states that as she was an intelligent child, timid at first contact, and who later felt more comfortable, was a child who conversed normally for her age, and was of a calm demeanour. She adds that it was usual for Madeleine to be called "Maddy", as this is how she [Madeleine] presented herself to the witness;• On the 3rd of May 2007, around 22H15, the witness was working during "dinner hour", together with her colleagues Jackie and Amy, when an unknown woman came to them indicating that she was a tourist lodged at the complex and asked them if they had heard about a disappearance of a child, whose name she referred to as "Maggie" or "Maddy";• The witness also clarified that the crèche in the complex also offers complementary services allowing parents to leave their children with baby sitters during dinner-time, between the hours of 19H15 and 23H00;• She advised the aforementioned individual that no one had told them of the disappearance, who she believed by the name given, was Madeleine, also for the reason that Amy contacted via telephone her supervisor, Lyndsay, who informed her that Madeleine had indeed disappeared;• After this situation, they began the "search procedure for a missing child" which consists of an organised search involving different areas of the complex in question;

• The witness states that she participated in the searches, together with her colleague—Amy, searching various areas of the Ocean Club establishment.

She also states that she searched the patio area of the residence where Madeleine stayed with her parents and siblings, and during which, she encountered many individuals inside the apartment but was not able to tell if they were complex employees or friends of the couple.She did not enter the residence in question;

• She participated in the searches until 01H30 on the 4th of May, 2007, when she returned to her residence;• During the search, she noticed, together with her colleagues from the Ocean Club, that other people participated in the searches (tourists, and proprietors from the complex in question);• She was not aware of the time but believes it was around midnight when she noticed that the local authorities (police) were present and assessing the situation;• States that the searches carried out by the Ocean Club elements terminated at around 04H00 the next morning, 04 of May, 2007, with negative results;

• States that she did not maintain contact with the minor in question, Madeleine McCann, but only to the extent that she was a child educator, as she was located together where the missing child was being watched in the crèche. She is unaware of Madeleine's habits and that of her parents, not having perceived any odd situation related to the child or any other during her work period in Portugal;

• The witness also states that Madeleine was normally left by her parents around 09H15 in the crèche, as her parents left the twins beforehand in the Toddler Club;• Is not aware of any situation that seemed odd/strange related, directly, or indirectly to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Nothing more to declare.

Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, she described Mrs McCann in the aftermath as "a broken woman" who was shuddering and unable to move.

"We are trained to comfort people in this type of situation but she was just inconsolable,"

"I was in the apartment less than five minutes after they found that Madeleine had gone.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her, they've taken her!'

"I was standing right in front of her outside the apartment's back door, in the alleyway. I was very close to her. It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it.

"I was one of three Mark Warner staff who saw her shouting it. They have all given statements to the Portuguese police saying that."

"I was helping give the children high tea. The twins were there and Madeleine and both parents.

"It was supposed to finish at 5.30pm but because they were a big group and really social, it didn't finish until about 6pm. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all."

"She didn't get the name, but she said it sounded something like 'Abbey, Gabby or Maddie'. We automatically went into lost-child procedure. In these situations, the first thing we do is investigate the scene.

"We knew that one of the other nanny's charges was called Maddie. We told the head of department what had happened and she took us straight to the apartment.

"There were no children in the room. The twins had been taken out already, I think by one of the McCanns' friends.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her. They've taken her!'

Asked if it was the only thing she said, Miss Pennington answered: "It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it. She also repeated Madeleine's name and said: 'She's gone, she's gone'.

"I couldn't really believe what I was seeing - she was just so distraught. She was screaming out and tears were running down her face.

"Everyone else was running around trying to help.

"Kate and her friend, who was looking after her, were the only ones who weren't out looking for Madeleine."

Asked why she thought Mrs McCann might have shouted "They've taken her", Miss Pennington said: "I'm not really sure. But maybe she saw some people looking at Madeleine earlier that day, and she immediately thought that they must have taken her."

"We get missing children all the time, and I have seen plenty of hysterical mothers. But none of them were like Kate."

She confirmed reports from the McCanns' friends that Murat was at the scene.

"He was outside the lobby just before we started on our big search," she said.

"He was adamant that he wasn't there. But he was. He was there in the road, he was just looking. It was about 10.30. He was just watching

"I didn't know his name then. But the next day he was our interpreter and I met him then. He didn't take part in the searches, but he was there."

Miss Pennington explained that she spent the rest of the evening searching for Madeleine, before finally going to bed at 4am.

Since then, she said, she has spoken to a Portuguese detective once and to two British detectives.

It is worth noting that this interview with Charlotte Pennington appeared just three days after a number of newspapers ran reports about a 'missing 7 hours' time period leading up to Madeleine's disappearance - a period when it was alleged that no independent witness had seen Madeleine.

Metodo 3 had already been hired by the McCanns at this point and this may well have been their first contribution to the case: Offering Charlotte Pennington to the Daily Mail, for an exclusive interview, that would dispel the 'missing 7 hours' reports.

Of course, Pennington subsequently cast doubt on this story, on the Dispatches programme aired on Channel 4 on 18 October 2007, when she admitted that the last time she had seen the McCanns, together as a family, was at lunchtime on 03 May 2007.

On the very day the Dispatches programme was aired, for which the McCanns would almost certainly have had a pre-screening, the Daily Mail reveals - exclusively - that Gerry had asked David Payne to pop by the apartment and check on Kate.

The 'source' told the Mail, "David Payne saw Madeleine at around 6.30pm. He popped in because Gerry wanted to make sure Kate was OK. Gerry was playing tennis and David said he was going past. I expect it was said (by Gerry) as: 'If you are heading back that way, stick your head in and see if Kate is all right'.

The 'missing 7 hours' that Pennington had just blown a huge hole in was instantly filled in again!

The mother's precise words have become a pivotal issue in the case, with Portuguese police questioning why she would automatically assume Maddie had been abducted.

Mrs McCann's family have countered this by insisting they recall her shouting: "Madeleine's gone."

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Miss Pennington, however, one of the first people to set foot in the couple's apartment after the disappearance, says she heard the mother use both phrases.

The 20-year-old Briton, who tended children for the Mark Warner holiday complex in Praia da Luz, firmly believes the McCanns are innocent.

Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, she described Mrs McCann in the aftermath as "a broken woman" who was shuddering and unable to move.

"We are trained to comfort people in this type of situation but she was just inconsolable," she said.

Miss Pennington is considered a vital witness by Portuguese detectives with whom she spent more than four-and-a-half hours giving a statement.

She also claims British expat Robert Murat, the first suspect in the case, was in the area of the Ocean Club complex that night. He has repeatedly denied that he was there.

Talking from her mother's home in Leatherhead, Surrey, yesterday she told the Daily Mail: "I was in the apartment less than five minutes after they found that Madeleine had gone.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her, they've taken her!'

"I was standing right in front of her outside the apartment's back door, in the alleyway. I was very close to her. It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it.

"I was one of three Mark Warner staff who saw her shouting it. They have all given statements to the Portuguese police saying that."

The "they've taken her" version of events was first given in the Portuguese press two days after Madeleine disappeared on May 3.

It remained unchallenged until last Thursday when a source close to the McCann family claimed Kate had actually shouted: 'Madeleine's gone!'

Miss Pennington flew out to start work at Praia da Luz on April 28 - the same day that the McCanns arrived. She had worked for Mark Warner on two previous occasions.

She was employed as a nanny in the Ocean Club resort's Baby Club, looking after children aged four to 12 months.

However, she also came into close contact with Madeleine, her two-year-old sister and brother Amelie and Sean, and their parents, both doctors aged 39.

She dismissed claims that the McCanns were not seen for six hours leading up to the disappearance.

She said: "I was helping give the children high tea. The twins were there and Madeleine and both parents.

"It was supposed to finish at 5.30pm but because they were a big group and really social, it didn't finish until about 6pm. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all."

After tea Miss Pennington went to work at the resort's evening creche, in which parents could leave their children while they went out for supper.

Just before 10pm the last mother arrived to collect her child from the creche and mentioned that she had just bumped into a man, who had been shouting a name.

"She didn't get the name, but she said it sounded something like 'Abbey, Gabby or Maddie'. We automatically went into lost-child procedure. In these situations, the first thing we do is investigate the scene.

"We knew that one of the other nanny's charges was called Maddie. We told the head of department what had happened and she took us straight to the apartment.

"There were no children in the room. The twins had been taken out already, I think by one of the McCanns' friends.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her. They've taken her!'

Asked if it was the only thing she said, Miss Pennington answered: "It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it. She also repeated Madeleine's name and said: 'She's gone, she's gone'.

"I couldn't really believe what I was seeing - she was just so distraught. She was screaming out and tears were running down her face.

"Everyone else was running around trying to help.

"Kate and her friend, who was looking after her, were the only ones who weren't out looking for Madeleine."

While Gerry McCann leapt into action and began frantically searching the resort, she said his wife remained outside the apartment, shuddering with tears and unable to move.

'Gerry frantically looked under cars while Kate paced up and down crying: "they've got Maddie"' says child-carer who worked in the Praia da Luz resort where Maddie vanished

A nanny who looked after Madeleine McCann has told how the youngster’s parents were plunged into despair and panic when the ­horrifying truth she had vanished sank in.

The former child minder said she is still haunted by the image of dad Gerry desperately trying to find their missing daughter while she tried to comfort weeping mum Kate who cried: “They’ve taken her.”

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Breaking her silence after 10 years, the witness also claimed the resort from which Madeleine vanished was considered so unsafe nannies were handed rape alarms and told to not go out alone.

And she slammed the Portuguese police’s handling of the disappearance, insisting their ­blundering scuppered any chances of finding who had snatched three-year-old Madeleine.

Kate and Gerry make emotional appeal after their daughter was abducted while they were at dinner(Photo: Getty)

Speaking of that dreadful night in May 2007, the ex-nanny –who looked after the girl several times – said: “A parent came to me and said there was something going on, and said someone’s looking for a child, I didn’t instantly think it was Maddie.

"A couple of minutes later I walked into Kate crying, friends comforting her, Gerry looking under cars, and it just blew up. I don’t even think she saw me. I just stood next to her and tried to comfort her.

“She was pacing up and down. The worst possible thing had just happened to her.

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“I think I said something like, ‘She’ll be found, these things happen all the time.’

“She was crying, but almost in a catatonic state, and Gerry was very distressed. That’s the one thing I really remember from him, looking under the cars. I can’t forget that.

The Mark Warner resort closed in 2015(Photo: Daily Mirror)

“We were told to start looking in bins in case her body was in there. It was at that point we realised this was serious.”

Along with other staff, the ex-carer, who worked for travel firm Mark Warner at the the Ocean Club resort, sifted by hand in the dark through industrial-sized bins and piping leading into the sea in their hunt for Madeleine.

They also walked Praia da Luz’s small, winding streets searching for the missing girl until they were told, against their wills at 5am, that it was time for bed.

But the woman, who we are not naming, said she is still furious with local police , who she claimed took 90 minutes to arrive on the scene.

And she told how people were in and out of the apartment where Madeleine vanished from – contaminating a ­potential crime scene.

The former nanny added: “I know I didn’t step into that apartment but pretty much everybody else did. So, evidence gone, nothing. There was nobody there to say, ‘We need to lock this off now.’ The police didn’t get there for ages, maybe an hour and a half, so we were looking for her. And at the end of the day, no matter how much you’ve been trained with ­children, we were children, mainly ­teenagers, we’re not police.

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“That’s why police were trying to get everyone’s timelines, because they weren’t there.”

She also told how she was interviewed by officers in the wake of Madeleine’s disappearance and later detectives from ­the Met’s Operation Grange handed her two pages of statements they had retrieved from their Algarve compratiots.

View of the Ocean Club Apartments complex from the street(Photo: Daily Mirror)

Her original statement was four to five pages long, but the one the Portuguese had been working from was only two pages long – missing a number of details from her interview. The woman claimed “whole chunks of information were missed out”.

She added: “I think a lot of things should’ve happened differently. ­Unfortunately the effects were catastrophic.”

And the carer told how she was astonished Kate and Gerry were ever deemed suspects in their own child’s ­disappearance. She is still constantly quizzed by people about the case who ask if “the parents did it”.

She said: “I tell them no, there’s no way at all. A, timings and B, where it was, their r­eactions, the whole thing. Not a chance.”

The woman also told how Madeleine was a favourite among the child minders. Her allocated nanny was Catriona Baker, but others also got the chance to look after her. The carer added: “I remember her character and ­temperament. She was slightly shy, very sweet. Not loud or precocious.

The nanny said that Madeleine was a helpful, polite child(Photo: PA)

“We obviously give the same care to all the children, but she was a real cutie and a real sweetheart. If you asked her, ‘Can you just pass me that?’ She’d be like, ‘Sure.’

“She was easy for us, and you were happy to sit and help out this pretty little girl who’s really nice.”

While the Ocean Club was clearly popular with British holidaymakers like the McCanns, from Rothley, Leics, the former child minder claimed it was considered an unsafe place for those who worked there.

After she arrived she was stunned when a fellow nanny passed on a message from hotel staff to never venture off the site alone.

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But the former nanny, who couldn’t face child minding again after the Algarve horror, said dining while kids were in the apartments was “really normal” in such resorts. And she insisted there was no evidence Kate and Gerry would ever neglect their kids. She said: “I remember thinking, even before I knew them, how they were the picture perfect family.”

The tapas bar was not far from the family's apartment(Photo: The People)

Asked if she thinks Madeleine is still alive, the woman said: “Think possibly is the wrong word, but hope. I hope she is still alive.

“It’s probably very naive, but the best case scenario of a very horrible situation, is that she was procured and taken for a rich person who didn’t have children.

“I can’t go anywhere else in my head. I can read it about other people and know how horrible that seedy world is where children are sold. But my brain won’t go there with her. I just switch off.

“But I think the only person who knows exactly what happened is Madeleine. Can I believe it’s 10 years on? Yes and no.

A still from a video showing the re-enaction of Madeleine's abduction(Photo: PA)

She was taken from the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort(Photo: Daily Mirror)

No because 10 years seems like a really long time, she’d be nearly 14.

“And yes, because sometimes, when I talk about it, it feels like I’m right back there again.

“I wonder if she’s alive. Does she even remember? Does she remember her parents?

“I’m probably less harrowed by it now, but that’s just because, although it’s awful, it’s become accepted.

“‘It’s Madeleine, she’s gone missing but it would just be the best day ever if I could be told that she’s been found.”

Operation Grange, which was last month given £85,000 of Home Office funding to extend its probe until September, still speaks to witnesses.

The mother's precise words have become a pivotal issue in the case, with Portuguese police questioning why she would automatically assume Maddie had been abducted.

Mrs McCann's family have countered this by insisting they recall her shouting: "Madeleine's gone."

Miss Pennington, however, one of the first people to set foot in the couple's apartment after the disappearance, says she heard the mother use both phrases.

The 20-year-old Briton, who tended children for the Mark Warner holiday complex in Praia da Luz, firmly believes the McCanns are innocent.

Speaking publicly for the first time yesterday, she described Mrs McCann in the aftermath as "a broken woman" who was shuddering and unable to move.

Charlotte Pennington

"We are trained to comfort people in this type of situation but she was just inconsolable," she said.

Miss Pennington is considered a vital witness by Portuguese detectives with whom she spent more than four-and-a-half hours giving a statement.

She also claims British expat Robert Murat, the first suspect in the case, was in the area of the Ocean Club complex that night. He has repeatedly denied that he was there.

Talking from her mother's home in Leatherhead, Surrey, yesterday she told the Daily Mail: "I was in the apartment less than five minutes after they found that Madeleine had gone.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her, they've taken her!'

"I was standing right in front of her outside the apartment's back door, in the alleyway. I was very close to her. It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it.

"I was one of three Mark Warner staff who saw her shouting it. They have all given statements to the Portuguese police saying that."

The "they've taken her" version of events was first given in the Portuguese press two days after Madeleine disappeared on May 3.

It remained unchallenged until last Thursday when a source close to the McCann family claimed Kate had actually shouted: 'Madeleine's gone!'

Miss Pennington flew out to start work at Praia da Luz on April 28 - the same day that the McCanns arrived. She had worked for Mark Warner on two previous occasions.

She was employed as a nanny in the Ocean Club resort's Baby Club, looking after children aged four to 12 months.

However, she also came into close contact with Madeleine, her two-year-old sister and brother Amelie and Sean, and their parents, both doctors aged 39.

She dismissed claims that the McCanns were not seen for six hours leading up to the disappearance.

She said: "I was helping give the children high tea. The twins were there and Madeleine and both parents.

madeleine

"It was supposed to finish at 5.30pm but because they were a big group and really social, it didn't finish until about 6pm. There was nothing out of the ordinary at all."

After tea Miss Pennington went to work at the resort's evening creche, in which parents could leave their children while they went out for supper.

Just before 10pm the last mother arrived to collect her child from the creche and mentioned that she had just bumped into a man, who had been shouting a name.

"She didn't get the name, but she said it sounded something like 'Abbey, Gabby or Maddie'. We automatically went into lost-child procedure. In these situations, the first thing we do is investigate the scene.

"We knew that one of the other nanny's charges was called Maddie. We told the head of department what had happened and she took us straight to the apartment.

"There were no children in the room. The twins had been taken out already, I think by one of the McCanns' friends.

"When we were coming out we saw Kate and she was screaming: 'They've taken her. They've taken her!'

Asked if it was the only thing she said, Miss Pennington answered: "It might not have been the first thing she said. But she definitely said it. She also repeated Madeleine's name and said: 'She's gone, she's gone'.

"I couldn't really believe what I was seeing - she was just so distraught. She was screaming out and tears were running down her face.

"Everyone else was running around trying to help.

"Kate and her friend, who was looking after her, were the only ones who weren't out looking for Madeleine."

While Gerry McCann leapt into action and began frantically searching the resort, she said his wife remained outside the apartment, shuddering with tears and unable to move.

"I'm not really sure. But maybe she saw some people looking at Madeleine earlier that day, and she immediately thought that they must have taken her."

The nanny was one of three staff who steered Mrs McCann to the nearby reception area, where they asked her to describe what Madeleine was wearing.

But she remained so hysterical that she could hardly communicate.

"We get missing children all the time, and I have seen plenty of hysterical mothers. But none of them were like Kate."

She confirmed reports from the McCanns' friends that Murat was at the scene.

"He was outside the lobby just before we started on our big search," she said.

"He was adamant that he wasn't there. But he was. He was there in the road, he was just looking. It was about 10.30. He was just watching

"I didn't know his name then. But the next day he was our interpreter and I met him then. He didn't take part in the searches, but he was there."

Murat has insisted that he was at his home nearby throughout the evening of Madeleine's disappearance. Portuguese sources have claimed that he will soon be told that he is no longer a suspect.

Miss Pennington explained that she spent the rest of the evening searching for Madeleine, before finally going to bed at 4am.

The following afternoon she was one of the first people to give witness statements to the Portuguese police.

Since then, she said, she has spoken to a Portuguese detective once and to two British detectives.

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Compare to her Witness statement and Mirror article

Witness statement

Charlotte Elizabeth Anne Pennington

Date/Time: 2007/05/07 14H30

Childcare Worker

Irish Citizen

Translator Robert Murat

• Has been in Portugal since April 28th, the day upon which she began working for the Ocean Club tourist Complex in Luz, Lagos, and where she is employed as a child educator. Her work contract was completed in the U.K. with MarkWarner;

• The witness clarifies that between the 19th of April and the 04th of May 2007 she worked with a group of children staying in the aforementioned complex between the ages of 4 months and one year of age (the Baby Club);

• The witness further clarifies that the BabyClub group was divided in three sub-groups, with each group composed of two babies, so that each group had a different infant educator allocated to it;

• With relation to the facts of the investigation, the witness states that in the course of her work, she came across Madeleine McCann many times, explaining that, even though she [Madeleine] did not belong to her [Pennington’s] group, this was normal, as the physical space where the children groups are located is contiguous;

• The witness clarifies that Madeleine was registered with the ‘MiniClub’, a group with children between 3 and 4 years of age. The principal space where the children from MiniClub and BabyClub are situated is in the same building as the Ocean Club complex reception and this is why the witness had personal contact with the identified child. However, she clarifies that it was normal during “siesta”-- understood to be between the hours of 09H00 and 10H30 and 14H30 and 15H00, at the exact time that children are brought into the crèche by their parents—when the children under her guard are asleep, that she would participate with the children and the activities in the MiniClub;

• Witness states that on two different days, Sunday, 29th of April 2007, and on Thursday, 03rd of May 2007, (she worked the dinner shift which started at 5.15 on Thursday) she had direct contact with Madeleine McCann, telling her stories and speaking with her.

• Witness states that as she was an intelligent child, timid at first contact, and who later felt more comfortable, was a child who conversed normally for her age, and was of a calm demeanour. She adds that it was usual for Madeleine to be called “Maddy”, as this is how she [Madeleine] presented herself to the witness;

• On the 3rd of May 2007, around 22H15, the witness was working during “dinner hour”, together with her colleagues Jackie and Amy, when an unknown woman came to them indicating that she was a tourist lodged at the complex and asked them if they had heard about a disappearance of a child, whose name she referred to as “Maggie” or “Maddy”;

• The witness also clarified that the crèche in the complex also offers complementary services allowing parents to leave their children with baby sitters during dinner-time, between the hours of 19H15 and 23H00;

• She advised the aforementioned individual that no one had told them of the disappearance, who she believed by the name given, was Madeleine, also for the reason that Amy contacted via telephone her supervisor, Lyndsay, who informed her that Madeleine had indeed disappeared;

• After this situation, they began the “search procedure for a missing child” which consists of an organised search involving different areas of the complex in question;

• The witness states that she participated in the searches, together with her colleague—Amy, searching various areas of the Ocean Club establishment. She also states that she searched the patio area of the residence where Madeleine stayed with her parents and siblings, and during which, she encountered many individuals inside the apartment but was not able to tell if they were complex employees or friends of the couple. She did not enter the residence in question;

• She participated in the searches until 01H30 on the 4th of May, 2007, when she returned to her residence;

• During the search, she noticed, together with her colleagues from the Ocean Club, that other people participated in the searches (tourists, and proprietors from the complex in question);

• She was not aware of the time but believes it was around midnight when she noticed that the local authorities (police) were present and assessing the situation;

• States that the searches carried out by the Ocean Club elements terminated at around 04H00 the next morning, 04 of May, 2007, with negative results;

• States that she did not maintain contact with the minor in question, Madeleine McCann, but only to the extent that she was a child educator, as she was located together where the missing child was being watched in the crèche. She is unaware of Madeleine’s habits and that of her parents, not having perceived any odd situation related to the child or any other during her work period in Portugal;

• The witness also states that Madeleine was normally left by her parents around 09H15 in the crèche, as her parents left the twins beforehand in the Toddler Club;

• Is not aware of any situation that seemed odd/strange related, directly, or indirectly to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Nothing more to declare.

'Gerry frantically looked under cars while Kate paced up and down crying: "they've got Maddie"' says child-carer who worked in the Praia da Luz resort where Maddie vanished

BY MATTHEW YOUNG

22:00, 17 APR 2017 UPDATED 22:06, 17 APR 2017

A nanny who looked after Madeleine McCann has told how the youngster’s parents were plunged into despair and panic when the ­horrifying truth she had vanished sank in.

The former child minder said she is still haunted by the image of dad Gerry desperately trying to find their missing daughter while she tried to comfort weeping mum Kate who cried: “They’ve taken her.”

Breaking her silence after 10 years, the witness also claimed the resort from which Madeleine vanished was considered so unsafe nannies were handed rape alarms and told to not go out alone.

And she slammed the Portuguese police’s handling of the disappearance, insisting their ­blundering scuppered any chances of finding who had snatched three-year-old Madeleine.

Speaking of that dreadful night in May 2007, the ex-nanny –who looked after the girl several times – said: “A parent came to me and said there was something going on, and said someone’s looking for a child, I didn’t instantly think it was Maddie.

"A couple of minutes later I walked into Kate crying, friends comforting her, Gerry looking under cars, and it just blew up. I don’t even think she saw me. I just stood next to her and tried to comfort her.

“She was pacing up and down. The worst possible thing had just happened to her.

“I think I said something like, ‘She’ll be found, these things happen all the time.’

“She was crying, but almost in a catatonic state, and Gerry was very distressed. That’s the one thing I really remember from him, looking under the cars. I can’t forget that.

“We were told to start looking in bins in case her body was in there. It was at that point we realised this was serious.”

Along with other staff, the ex-carer, who worked for travel firm Mark Warner at the the Ocean Club resort, sifted by hand in the dark through industrial-sized bins and piping leading into the sea in their hunt for Madeleine.

They also walked Praia da Luz’s small, winding streets searching for the missing girl until they were told, against their wills at 5am, that it was time for bed.

But the woman, who we are not naming, said she is still furious with local police , who she claimed took 90 minutes to arrive on the scene.

And she told how people were in and out of the apartment where Madeleine vanished from – contaminating a ­potential crime scene.

The former nanny added: “I know I didn’t step into that apartment but pretty much everybody else did. So, evidence gone, nothing. There was nobody there to say, ‘We need to lock this off now.’ The police didn’t get there for ages, maybe an hour and a half, so we were looking for her. And at the end of the day, no matter how much you’ve been trained with ­children, we were children, mainly ­teenagers, we’re not police.

“That’s why police were trying to get everyone’s timelines, because they weren’t there.”

She also told how she was interviewed by officers in the wake of Madeleine’s disappearance and later detectives from ­the Met’s Operation Grange handed her two pages of statements they had retrieved from their Algarve compratiots.

Her original statement was four to five pages long, but the one the Portuguese had been working from was only two pages long – missing a number of details from her interview. The woman claimed “whole chunks of information were missed out”.

She added: “I think a lot of things should’ve happened differently. ­Unfortunately the effects were catastrophic.”

And the carer told how she was astonished Kate and Gerry were ever deemed suspects in their own child’s ­disappearance. She is still constantly quizzed by people about the case who ask if “the parents did it”.

She said: “I tell them no, there’s no way at all. A, timings and B, where it was, their r­eactions, the whole thing. Not a chance.”

The woman also told how Madeleine was a favourite among the child minders. Her allocated nanny was Catriona Baker, but others also got the chance to look after her. The carer added: “I remember her character and ­temperament. She was slightly shy, very sweet. Not loud or precocious.

The nanny said that Madeleine was a helpful, polite child (Photo: PA)

“We obviously give the same care to all the children, but she was a real cutie and a real sweetheart. If you asked her, ‘Can you just pass me that?’ She’d be like, ‘Sure.’

“She was easy for us, and you were happy to sit and help out this pretty little girl who’s really nice.”

While the Ocean Club was clearly popular with British holidaymakers like the McCanns, from Rothley, Leics, the former child minder claimed it was considered an unsafe place for those who worked there.

After she arrived she was stunned when a fellow nanny passed on a message from hotel staff to never venture off the site alone.

She added: “I just couldn’t get over how different it was to other Mark Warner resorts.

“We were told, ‘Here’s a rape whistle, don’t go anywhere by yourself, ever.’ There’d been a girl attacked the year or so before in Praia da Luz. It didn’t sound like a family resort to me.

“I just got the feeling the locals didn’t want us there.” It emerged in 2014 that 11 years earlier a 10-year-old British girl had been sexually assaulted “in the heart” of Praia da Luz.

The victim came forward three years ago after a Scotland Yard appeal revealed a string of potentially linked sex assaults on young UK girls across the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

Mark Warner, which operates in resorts all over the world, quit Praia da Luz in 2015.

Madeleine vanished as her parents ate with friends at a tapas bar just 40 yards from where she slept next to twin siblings, Amelie and Sean.

But the former nanny, who couldn’t face child minding again after the Algarve horror, said dining while kids were in the apartments was “really normal” in such resorts. And she insisted there was no evidence Kate and Gerry would ever neglect their kids. She said: “I remember thinking, even before I knew them, how they were the picture perfect family.”

The tapas bar was not far from the family's apartment (Photo: The People)

Asked if she thinks Madeleine is still alive, the woman said: “Think possibly is the wrong word, but hope. I hope she is still alive.

“It’s probably very naive, but the best case scenario of a very horrible situation, is that she was procured and taken for a rich person who didn’t have children.

“I can’t go anywhere else in my head. I can read it about other people and know how horrible that seedy world is where children are sold. But my brain won’t go there with her. I just switch off.

“But I think the only person who knows exactly what happened is Madeleine. Can I believe it’s 10 years on? Yes and no.

She was taken from the Mark Warner Ocean Club resort (Photo: Daily Mirror)

No because 10 years seems like a really long time, she’d be nearly 14.

“And yes, because sometimes, when I talk about it, it feels like I’m right back there again.

“I wonder if she’s alive. Does she even remember? Does she remember her parents?

Pamela GurneyThe older child, Madeleine could be consoled with "we are taking you to find Mummy" and she would not need nappies nor special food. In any case we feel strongly the order was for a blonde 4 year old girl as an attempt had been made on Nuno Lourenco's daughter just days before Madeleine. had she been successfully taken probably Madeleine would not have been.

Lisa RichardsonPamela Gurney excuse me? Kate got them tested when she could ? What 3 months down the line when she knew as a GP there would no longer be any traces of sedatives ? And also as a GP she should know straight away to take a child that would not wake up through all the commotion to the hospital ? Why didnt she ? Did she know something would show up if they were tested for sedatives. Absolutely ridiculous!

Yvonne SmithYeah the time it took them to get twins tested was to make sure there was no sedatives in their system. Almost the same reason there could never be an autopsy on Maddie which would uncover drugs/sexual abuse..

Joanne TottyHow the hell do you no Pamela Gurney what they did? Them as parents failed that little girl by leaving her home alone simple as that. And also if she was abducted they would off took all 3 children

Gloria RobinsonI for one believe they made a grave error in leaving the children that night but do not think they were in anyway party to Madeleines disappearance! I wouldn't of left my children but having lived abroad have seen how parents are lulled into feeling it's safe to leave their children whilst sitting near by!

Charlotte Faye SullivanWoke up, couldn't find her parents, walked to the only place she knew.. The beach as all kids probably would and the tide was in (which she wouldn't have accounted for) and got swept away by a current 😔that's what I like to think.. That she wasn't hurt in anyway by anyone it was just an accident..

Leanne McDonaldIn a book written by Kate McCann it explains some facts of quite a few cases up to shortly before Madeline went missing where there were intruders, other guests reporting their children being attacked inside accommodation by a stranger. I think it's only fair to read what reports you can. Really I don't think anyone will ever know the real truth

Leanne McDonaldI didn't mean or state it was fact-i said there are some facts written in the book regarding reported incidents. You also can't believe what you read in the press -everyone always had their own bias or reasons for reporting to lead people to believe stories and/or create a reaction.

Hilde SwendgaardOur opinions are formed by what we read, see and hear on this case mixed in with our own hearing, reading and seeing stuff all our lives, call it gut for shorthand. Most of that information comes as a result of editorial bias, designed to make us buy, tune in and nothing to do with fact. It's all conjecture. To ask our opinion is pretty pointless.

Diane BurdakyI'm shocked at some of the comments. Who made you judge, juror & executioner? They didn't deliberately put their children at risk. Hindsight is a wonderful thing & I'm sure that a day doesn't go by where they don't beat themselves up for their error of judgement on that night. There is absolutely no evidence to support some of your ridiculous claims that somehow the parents are responsible for Madelines murder / disappearance. Unfortunately the initial investigations by the Portugese Police were haphazard and unprofessional resulting in crucial evidence being missed or destroyed. The fact that the McCanns are professional and fairly well off is not a factor in the UK's Police & Social Services investigations exonerating them of charges of neglect.

Gill SherburnI beg to differ. Of course they put their children at risk. All three of them. And there is evidence galore to suggest their involvement. No evidence whatsoever to corroborate their abduction spin.

Diane BurdakyIn that case why haven't they been charged or had their other children removed from their care? Suddenly everyone is an amateur detective or social worker. The reality is that they have been thoroughly investigated by all the relevant organisations & have been found innocent of these vile and vitriolic accusations made by members of the public who just seem to be haters and are in no way qualified to make such outrageous judgements.

Alison WatsonIts neglect they neglected all 3 children. Who does that really ? Oh thats right they did. No smoke without fire. Normal parents dont drug and leave their children alone in a foreign country!!!

Denise LamouryI agree - they clearly put their children at risk and we all know the outcome. I also disagree with your comments about affluent parents being treated differently - years working alongside child protection has confirmed that for me

Diane BurdakyIf your statement was true they would have been arrested, charged & had their children removed from their care. Perhaps you are more qualified than the UK professionals who investigated the case??? Although I doubt it and your statement "There is no smoke without fire" is not exactly a tried & trusted way of defining guilt is it?

Gill SherburnI suggest you read the official case files.. They are freely available online for anyone to read.. They have most certainly NOT been thoroughly investigated. Did you know they have never been questioned by the Uk Police? Kate was interviewed by the Portuguese police and refused to answer the 48 questions put to her. Questions that could potentially have led to the recovery of Madeleine. Not the actions of an innocent parent IN MY OPINION .Refused to take part in a reconstruction that could have massively helped the investigation. Read the files.

Alison WatsonThey have been. A case of a young woman holidaying with her 7 year old son. She left him alone. She was having charges brought against her for neglect ? Normal average working woman. Yet these 2 basically have never ever been held accountable and made how much money off that child. !!

Diane BurdakyConspiracy theories, deleted evidence, cover ups etc etc. are just speculative and mere gossip. I am open minded (unlike a lot of people on this site) and I am more than willing to change my mind when fact based evidence, gathered by official organisations is presented to me.

Diane BurdakyDenise Lamoury If you have personally witnessed any wrong doings or favouritism / discrimination in any situation whereby the well being of a child is compromised then I suggest you report it immediately to the official organisations.

Cherry BeresfieldDiane Burdaky I seem to recall those who were fighting for justice and truth for Hillsborough were also branded keyboard warriors and conspiracy theorists and they helped the truth to eventually come out.

Vikki ReganThey should never have left their children. But they did and a terrible thing happened. We all love a plot a good gossip and most absolutely thrive on finger pointing. But I for one believe the only terrible thing the parents committed was neglect. I genuinely believe she was taken by someone either for trafficking(god let's hope not) or for a family who desperately wanted a child. Although I think the first is more likely as heart breaking as it is. If they were guilty why be so eager to stay in the public eye....how can so many professionals be in their company that specialise in solving crime still not get a whiff?? It's because they didn't do it. Whatever IT is. All the things people see as guilt have perfectly reasonable explanations. If people took the time to logically think about it. The media is bullshit. It's poison and people get sucked in far to easily. It's sickening. All the haters and all the people that have been lead to believe the parents did"it" are obviously not going to be helping. I'll continue to share every positive story about madeleine and hope one day that her parents,family and friends will get the answers they deserve....I hope in my lifetime I'll find out too. #findmadeleinemccann

Simon FoxNo evidence whatsoever she was abducted from her bed in the apartment. And you look at the police photos of her bed and decide for yourself if it had been slept in. Or maybe Gerrys imaginary abductor tidied and ironed the sheets.

There was a member of the tapas lot missing every night from the meal. The Portugese police pulled the statements apart.

They wanted the public to believe the neglect theory + abduction. Because no neglect = no abduction.

The supposed exit point of the abductor was out of the open window/shutter that was broken, and this was the story they fed to friends and family. Only they failed at the first hurdle. Whoever was on window duty failed to open/break it. Abduction theory blown apart straight away.

Vikki ReganSo you are telling me all the people that were with them(friends) some of which checked on maddie too have all gone along with the parents story. U find a couple of bad eggs often find each other but 9? I think there were 9 of them. U truly believe that even though not one has cracked or contradicted any part of the investigation??

Lindsey GreenVikki Regan yes the reason will be because there are other members of this group that either were drugging their children to sleep or God forbid something of a sexual nature.

I recommend you look up the Gaspar statement about 2 doctors who previously went on holiday with the McCanns and the paynes and witnessed Gerry and David discussing how Madeleine would give blow jobs!!!!!!!!!

This was passed on to Leicestershire police who withheld it from Portugese police for about 6 months.

Donna MeadWhy why why? Too many whys! They lied way too many times, they never searched and continued 'normal life'!, they silenced people, didn't answer questions. The words Kate used in her book about Madeleine!! No decent mother would say what she said! Not exactly the actions of innocent people. Why do they not prove us all wrong and get investigated properly? No parent is innocent when it comes to child neglect. At the very least they should of been charged for this!

Jules BaxterHow do you reasonably explain all the places the cadaver dogs picked up scent or the washing of Madeleines toy, the conversations between Gerry and his pal that were reported to the police for being sexually explicit about children. The one thing thathas really dawned on me is why would a random kidnapper pop into a random apartment to look to see if there's kids in there, even if he had been observing the family for a while how did he know there wasn't a babysitter in the apartment and above all else, grabbing a kid from an apartment Maddies age would lead to that kid screaming the resort down for mum and dad - a random kidnapper wouldn't have known the kid was drugged and that her screaming wasn't going to be a risk.

Vikki ReganOk so the police officer who wrote the book. Admiral something or other....this is a man who has been accused more than once. Of forcing confessions out of innocent people. Planting evidence and concocting bullshit stories....my theory is the police fucked up the investigation so much from the start(e.g) not preserving evidence, letting tom dick and Harry come in and out. Not getting the bins checked that were subsequently emptied without being checked. An area that had building work going on was allowed to continue not searched and was concreted over within days....smells fishy to me. Oh shit were embarrassing what can we possibly do to correct this bullshit mess of an investigation!? Oh I know blame the parents. Let's point fingers away from us and get the heat off us asap. That's my thoughts#justsaying

Sue SheardI could never understand how two intelligent people could think it was ok to leave your kids alone. Any normal, loving, caring parent would never, ever, ever leave their children alone in this manner. They are guilty whatever way. And why only take one child.

Jules BaxterAside from whether the police messed anything up, how do you silently kidnap a child from an apartment and disappear off through a resort with her! The answer is you can't because the kid would likely scream for her parents - a kidnapper surely would not take this risk!!

Vikki ReganJust like all the other kidnapped children of the world 🙄if you planned to take a child. You'd do something to keep that child quiet...u can be knocked out in seconds by chemicals on a cloth.

Simon FoxVikki Regan evidence of an abduction please? And an explanation as to why Kate rang everyone that night saying the shutters had been jemmied when they weren't. When she should have been outside screaming her child's name. Because my first reaction would be she had wandered off looking for me. If Maddie had been in the apartment that is.

Jenny McDonaldThey refused to take a lie detector test. The cadaver dogs indicated a dead body had been behind the sofa and led them to rental car parked streets away with Madeleine's blood in it. Read The lead investigator from Portugals story. He told it because the McCann's lawyers had gagging orders out on British press. It's always been a cover up.

Cheryl May CoxVikki Regan English officers bought dogs over that picked up the scent of death and maddies DNA in the Mccanns hire car that was hired 3 weeks after her disappearance ? Also blood and the smell of death in the apartment. The smell of death on cuddle cat and Kate's clothes! How's that possible if they had nothing to do with her death.

Helen Kirsty AntcliffThe car was hired 3 weeks after Madeleine was reported missing. How can the blood and cadaver be explained? Especially since it was also alerted to on Madeleine's toy, Kent McCanns clothes, a child's t-shirt and inside and outside of their appartment? No where else.

Pamela GurneyBeca Louise Madeleine had her own toothbrush but it could not be used because there was a great likelihood that the twins would have picked it up as they rushed to clean their teeth and it would be contaminated with their DNA. That is why a control sample was needed and the pillowcase was taken by Leicester police and given to the forenisc team.

Pamela GurneyCheryl May Cox No scent of death in the hire car at all. read John Lowe's report where he says the results were from between 3 - 5 people. That means it was as likely to have come from his technicians in the lab he said as Madeleine. We all share 99.9% of our DNA. But if there was DNA from Madeleine it may well have come from skin but BLOOD NO. there was NO BLOOD IN THE HIRE CAR....apart from gerry;s on the key fob.

Pamela GurneyLisa Richardson watch the full length version. We have watched it so many times. the dogs are cued of that there is no doubt. the car in the underground car park had a sticker with Madeleine in the window and the dog ignored it until Martin called it back. Watch the full length version as I said.

Donna HanveyQuilty no matter what...they had a responsibility to that poor girl...in this country they would have been sentenced. You can't even leave your child to go to the local shop for 5 mins ffs....

Debi LoftyI have always wondered why the McCanns were never up in court. For neglect of their children, as first and foremost that is what happened FACT! I then believe that there was some form of sedative found in the room....fact or fiction? I don't know but why on earth would you take it on holiday unless you medically needed it. There is a lot of conflicting stories out there, I do feel for the McCanns as they have lost their daughter and she still isn't found BUT if they hadn't neglected their children in the first place it would never have happened! On top of this they have then cashed in on their story- wrote a book and done various fundraisers which haven't really got them anywhere (correct me if I am wrong there). I sympathise mainly with poor maddie, What sort of life is she having at the hands of her abductor? If her parents weren't as self centred indulging in their own personal experiences whilst on holiday maybe she would still be with them. I do hope one day she is found alive and well but I also believe that her parents should have had some form of investigation by social services back in the UK. I feel that because they are of a professional rank which they are that this has been massively overlooked!

Joe BreenIf it was anyone else they would be behind bars and their other children taken away.becuase these vile people have freinds with benefits they haven't even been brought up against neglect charges... who leave they children alone on a foreign place ... this is disregard the kadiver dogs and Portuguese detectives findings...... the whole thing is a media farce

Jules ArmstrongBoth guilty. What mother knowing her child is missing washes her teddy? Huge cover up by our own government too protecting these two evil people. Who drugs their child to go out drinking

Nicola BoshellThere is a page on Facebook I'm in the group it's called Madeline McCann abduction or a scam have a read even phycologist examine the parents behaviour and believe they are to blame I spent hours reading all the professionals take on it and it all points to Kate & Jerry plz read Stinson Hunter you won't be DISSAPOINTED . Xx

Pippa J HareThere are many questions that i think the parents should answer and the police.

why did they drug their children to put them into a sedation when they went out using drugs they took from work. they were never prosecuted for this?

why after madeline went missing did they change their hire car. Wouldn't this be the last thing on your mind.

why did they turn down the police from the UK to be in charge with the case and instead chose the Portuguese to run the case?

why did kate after realising madeleine had gone did she leave the twins alone in the room to tell the rest of the group? surely you wouldnt let them out your site after 1 of your children were missing and admitting to police you knew straight away madeline had been abducted.

why did kate inform the media of madeline going missing?

it was known within the family that kate struggled with her children and considered giving custody of madeline to a reletaive.

human blood was found by the sniffer dog behind the sofa in their room and the boot of their hire car.

when kate was questioned by police she used the 'no comment' procedure. Wouldn't you answer all questions to help find your daughter no matter how insignificant it is?

Pamela GurneyThey have answered the PJ and Operation Grange, neither force are looking at them as the perpetrators of any crime against Madeleine. No drugs were ever used by the Mccanns on the children. FORUM MYTHS!

Pamela GurneyAndrew McAllister I have answered on the dogs a number of times tonight but for you here goes again.

The dogs I do not believe found cadaver odour in apt 5a or on anything to do with the McCanns.

They have been given a glowing reputatation they do not deserve.

They did not solve 200 cases with 100% accuracy because they never went out on 200 searches. They were put through tests Grime says and attained accuracy on those which is where he gets the 200 from. One such thing was whether they reacted to pork based products.

I think the entire SYP handlers only had 85 cases between them up to that date.

Seán ComiskeyAll i know is, if this had of been a single mother from a council estate in Wigan, then there would have been no media backing, no book deal, no tv appearances. Just a custodial sentence for neglect.

Pamela GurneyThe media would have been there for you in much the same way as it was all around the Mccanns flashing lights in their faces every single day. It was NEWS and the media have made a mint out of it and still do.

Rosie PewI would suggest everyone take a peek at the 'find Madeline'fundraising page.A limited company.View at your leisure the various,mugs,t shirts,vests,keyrings,passport covers etc which you can purchase.I've tried to find similar sites for other abducted children ie Ben Needham.Nope zero.........

Naomi Coltman RodmellI've watched a video about the evidence etc and I do believe there is something sinister going on I believe (my opinion not necessarily the truth) that the parents drugged her with capol or something similar (Kate admitted using this regularly) so that she would not wake so they could have adult time out and possibly overdosed her they then obviously covered it up there is something really sinister about the case their reactions etc it's very interesting to research into all I can say is one day we will possibly know the truth.....

Danielle Cherie BallingerWhat always has got to me is if I left my daughter for a night to go out for a meal I'd doing a lengthy prison sentence for it, I don't understand why they were never charged for that. Personally I think the parents are guilty of something maybe have her to much of whatever they were giving the kids to sleep and killed her I do believe if this is the case I think it was a accident. I hope one day we will know the truth! X

Jasmine BrudenallThe truth of the lie. I actually was all about the parents but when I read that book by the detective I really got into it. Something doesn't smell right. And they also think one of their friends was a peadophile. A friend of theirs spoke to a detective I should say ex friend that discussions about children were inappropriate at the dinner table. Very interesting book and I don't really think u can get better than that. They tried to ban the book (the mcanns) but it wasn't classed as slander as it is only facts about the case

Emma DeighanNo one knows what happened no matter how many case files you've read or how many qualifications in armchair detection you may have.. 🙄 ...no one knows how they would react in this situation so cannot comment unless its happened to you and even then you still don't know! Everyone's a bloody expert in this case and 'knows what happened' ...except ya don't!!!! 😴😴✋🏽

Mandy MillisMy opinion is very simple, I saw the mother on tv grieving, she looked so ill, grey and heartbroken and had lost a lot of weight. I don't believe anyone could act that out no matter how many baftas they'd received. A lot of people like to blame them, they made a huge mistake by leaving their kids that's true but it's not like they were miles away ... however I'm not saying that was ok . What did they have to gain by being involved? Why would you want that on your conscience ? I don't believe that the mother was involved that's for sure !!!

Linda MuscatWell I couldn't talk on or off camera if my child went is sing I'd be inconsolable. She has never let her face drop at all.never a quiver in her voice. Why take the older child who would be harder to hide and more likely to put up a fight or cry??? How can they write and publish a book I sure as he'll wouldn't buy it. Definitely think they have done it have felt it all along. They show no emotion.

Lidia LeeAnd having your hair done two days after the disappearance?!And going for a jog the day after?! Washing the scent of your child off her favourite toy?!Refusing to take a polygraph test?!Stating the scent of death found on your clothing, and car was due to an autopsy taken out in the UK, when there were no records of such a thing?! Running into the hotel lobby shouting, "they've taken her, they've taken maddie" minutes after realising she was gone from her room?! How would she have known she was abducted at that stage and not just wandering about somewhere? The list goes on and on and on.......... murdering bastards!